THE highly venomous yellow bellied sea snake has been found washed ashore after the recent wild weather that hit the East Coast this week.
One of the strongest “El Ninos” on record has seen the snakes venturing further south this season with the warmer currents and then the heavy weather has seen several wash up on NSW beaches this week as far south as Moruya.
These snakes, while highly venomous, aren’t typically aggressive and usually live their entire life at sea in warmer tropical waters and Wires reptile expert Gary Pattinson said that an occurrence like this is very rare.
“They generally live their whole lives at sea. When they’re getting washed up, it’s generally a good sign there’s been extremely stormy weather or the snake itself is injured or sick. Weaker snakes will get tired – they don’t have the strength to fight the ocean,” Pattinson said.
People are encouraged to throw the snake back in the water using a great deal of care and awareness that although the snake is very placid, they are highly venomous
